Beginning Lent With Joy
Let us enter the Fast with joy, O faithful
Let us not be sad.
Let us cleanse our faces with waters of dispassion,
blessing and exalting Christ forever.
Let us begin the Fast with joy.
Let us give ourselves to spiritual efforts.
Let us cleanse our souls.
Let us cleanse our flesh.
Let us fast from passions as we fast from foods,
taking pleasure in the good works of the Spirit
and accomplishing them in love
that we all may be made worthy to see the passion of
Christ our God
and His Holy Pascha,
rejoicing with spiritual joy.
- from the 1st Friday matins and Forgiveness Sunday vespers of the Orthodox liturgy.
Receive Lent with gladness, O people!
The beginning of spiritual warfare arrives.
Forsake the indulgences of the flesh
that the gifts of the Spirit may abound in you
Embrace your share of suffering, O soldiers of Christ!
Prove yourselves to be children of God!
The Holy Spirit will take up His abode in you
and your sould will be filled with His light.
“Only one day,” He said
“is the life of those on earth.”
For those who make the effort in love
there are forty days of the Fast
for us to accomplish with joy.
- from the Cheesefare Tuesday matins and the First Monday matins of the Orthodox liturgy.
Pascha is the Eastern Orthodox Church’s term for Easter. It literally means the Passover. In Malay, we know Easter as Hari Paskah as well. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, there is a pre-lenten liturgical preparation for Lent. The last week prior to the the week of Lent is known as the Cheesefare, as traditionally dairy products are eaten during this period. It is also a period where the present need of forgiveness is acknowledged and the faithful will take effort to forgive each other for sins committed against each other – hence Forgiveness Sunday is the name ascribed to the last Sunday before the week of Lent.
The references to the First Monday, First Friday, etc, refer to the weeks of Lent, ie. the First Monday would be the Monday of the first week of Lent (which in the Eastern tradition starts on Monday – also known as Clean Monday – rather than Ash Wednesday). In the traditional Church calendar, there are daily times of prayer known as the daily offices or canonical hours. The traditional Major and Minor Hours are as follows:
Matins
- prayers held in the late night (major hour)
Lauds
- prayers held in the early morning (major hour)
Prime
- prayers held at dawn (minor hour)
Terce
- prayers held in the mid-morning (minor hour)
Sext
- prayers held in the middle of the day (minor hour)
None
- prayers held in the mid-afternoon (minor hour)
Vespers
- prayers held in the evening (major hour)
Compline
- prayers held at night (minor hour)
The actual practice and division of major and minor hours vary according to tradition, ie. the Anglican Church retains the Morning and Evening Prayers, whereas in the Lutheran tradition, the hours of Matins, Lauds, and Prime are combined into a single service of Matins. In a lot of Protestant churches, particularly those from the Evangelical expressions, the practice is generally obsolete as are the commemorations of the Church calendar, although there are indications that there’s a growing revival in their practice.
You’ll notice the emphasis of joy in the Eastern Church’s commemoration of Lent. The emphasis is on commemorating it as a sanctified season consecrated to the correction, purification and enlightenment of the total person through the fulfillment of the commandments of God. There’s a looking forward towards the blossoming of the fruit of the Holy Spirit (see Galatians 5:22) and viewed as a tithe of the year.
This is perhaps something worth reminding myself of this Lent.
Blessings and peace.
